5 Reasons Why Video Subtitles Are Essential
If you are producing video content with speech included, then you need to make sure you are including subtitles as part of your process and not only to make them more accessible.
Here’s 5 reasons why you should be using subtitles on your videos and how you can make the most of them to benefit other areas of your marketing such as SEO.
1 - For Accessibility
Subtitles can help those with hearing loss to engage with the speech in your video. This includes both those with permanent hearing loss as well as those with temporary loss, such as having an ear infection or simply being in a location that hampers their ability to hear.
Using subtitles in your video content means you are increasing the amount of people who can successfully watch and engage with your content. To go even further you can also use captions in video content, which includes descriptions of other audio as well as speech, such as highlighting when a phone is ringing or the type of music that is playing.
2 - For Watching Without Sound
Did you know that 85% of video on Facebook is watched without sound? Based on this, if you aren’t using subtitles in your videos, then you are potentially missing out on this market.
There are lots of reasons why people watch videos with the sound off or down low but using subtitles or captions can ensure they don’t skip straight past your video when it comes up in their feed.
3 - For Additional Text Content
If you are creating subtitles for your video content, then chances are you are creating SRT files. That means you have simple text versions of your video content. That text content can be used and repurposed in a number of ways:
As a transcript
If you are adding your video to your website, then it’s worth using your SRT file to make a full transcript of the audio content to be shared alongside.
This gives another option for people to engage with your video content, whether that’s because they would rather read than watch or because they are having technical issues such as slow internet that might affect video watching.
Including a full transcript of your videos on your website can also help with your SEO too.
As a blog
You can also take the text of your video and repurpose this as a blog. Starting with your SRT files means you don’t have to start from scratch, and you can take the parts of the text that are relevant and add to this to make something completely new.
As a Twitter thread
Having your video content as text can also help you to introduce it to your audience as a Twitter thread. You can either do this manually or use a Twitter thread tool such as Chirr App or Twitter Thread Maker.
You can use this content either as a stand-alone introduction to your topic or to point people back to the full video. Either way it’s a great accompanying tool to videos and blogs.
4 - To Aid Comprehension
You’d be surprised how much allowing people to read and hear content at the same time can improve comprehension of your video topic. Several studies (e.g., Bowe & Kaufman, 2001; Evmenova, 2008; Linebarger, 2001; Rickelman, Henk, & Layton, 1991) indicate that captioning and subtitles can help strengthen the reading skills of students with learning disabilities, ELLs, and struggling or beginning readers.
It’s especially crucial for those who are watching your video where English isn’t their first language. Adding subtitles gives non-English speakers two complementary ways to ensure they are following what is being said.
5 - To Increase Social Reach
Did you know that viewers are more engaged when watching video with subtitles? Insta page found that captioned videos on Facebook a 16% higher reach than those without. It didn’t end there though, they also saw 26% more CTA click throughs, 17% better reactions and 15% more shares.
The research is clear that if your video needs sound to be understood fully you need to make sure you are using subtitles or captions to make the most of social reach.
Conclusion
So, if you want your video content to do well on social media you need to make sure you are utilising subtitles. This is a service we provide with our video content, but if you need help getting started why not get in contact.
